It was almost the perfect day. Sunlight sparkled on almost everything it hit; waves rolled into the sandy beaches where staff were busy readying lounge chairs with umbrellas and fresh towels; and she could even hear the assembly line of waiters in the pavilion that were dressing each table for guests in search of a bigger breakfast than what they had just had from the comfort of the balcony. The red on the carpet leading up to the lobby and down the jetty for the day was glittering like a million rubies in her eyes, or just as much as the strawberry heading into her mouth. So far, it was feeling like the perfect day...the most perfect day for a premiere.

"Okay," Ross stepped out onto the balcony again, all dressed and ready to go...three hours early. "I'm ready for today."

His tailored white shirt was still open, and untucked from his black slacks, revealing his chiseled chest that Laura couldn't help but touch. Last night after the screening and after they returned to their room, sleep overcame them before they had a chance to do anything. She wasn't complaining, seeing as she had plans for them tonight. It was actually kind of nice, waking up in his arms and facing a fabulous horizon. He had been the big spoon all night long and it was nice. It was something she definitely missed while she was in New York. You could call her addicted to the feeling; she'd actually fully admit that she was.

She was even more addicted to letting her hand slide up and down his smooth chest. The chest she was imagining kissing all over and rubbing; the chest she was also imagining getting glimpses off while he was plunging into her and it getting all sweaty...

"Hey, Laur," he caught her hand, breaking her away from her impure thoughts. "As much as I like you doing that..."

Laura pulled back her hand, stuffing it under her leg. "If you didn't want me to touch, you should've buttoned up before you came out here."

"Oh, I want you to touch, but if you do it right now, we won't make it out of this room for three days," Ross leaned over to her, pecking her lips. She knew he only meant for it to be a quick kiss, but as soon as she tasted the grapes and burnt toast he requested for breakfast, it turned into a more passionate one.

Cinnamon tickled her tongue as she opened her mouth and his met hers in such a great good morning kiss that she wasn't sure if anything could top it. He pulled away, but not before she tried to pull him back again. "Three days?"

"Maybe longer," he slipped in a wink, leaving her wanting more, before she got up from the chair and started to help him with his shirt.

Pushing the fasteners through the loop, one by one, Laura watched his bare chest disappear behind the fabric. It was such a shame to be covering him up when she should be ripping it off and sending the buttons flying off the balcony... Stop it, Laura, she scolded herself, silently counting down the minutes now until she could push it off of him and then wear it herself the morning after.

They had a photo call to go to and then a premiere. There would be no buttons flying anywhere until later tonight. Popping up the collar just so, Laura's hands slid down the openness of the V, pulling out the necklace that still hung around his neck and then dropping it back in. "You look handsome," she looked up at him as his arms circled her waist and pulled her closer.

"Yea? Not hot or what was the word you used the other day? Fuckable?"

A light blush creeped up on cheeks. She had indeed used that word to describe how he looked. He, of course, was getting fitted for that Valentino suit that he never got to wear for the MET Gala and the moment he asked her how he looked was the moment her filter was not in check. She remembered the seamstresses giggling at her language and his mouth dropping in shock. But it was the truth. He looked fuckable and she definitely showed him just how much he was.

"I like that word. I think you should use it more."

"More?" Her eyes widened at him. "Will I be using that word tonight, Ross?"

"I sure hope so," his voice got low just like his hands were, cupping her bottom and squeezing on her skin as her arms circled around his neck. There were times when she hated being short and him being taller like they were, but right now, was not one of those times. She loved that he could pick her up like she weighed nothing and made her feel like this...like she was the only thing on his mind. She loved it even more that he was tall and that if she ever needed a lift to see a stage at some concert, he'd put her on his shoulders. Maybe being short was a good thing after all.

His nose nuzzled her own and while she'd love to stay all day like this and take him up on his three days without leaving the room offer, she had to get going to the conference room downstairs. Paramount had hired and put all their resources into a super glam team for all the female stars of the film. While the men would have to do their own...well, most of them opted to anyhow, the girls were all taken care of. With the photo call just a few hours away, she'd have to get down there now to get ready.

"Thanks for getting me all turned on just before I have to go and get ready."

Ross' lips curved upwards. "Anytime babe."

+++

"You know what I'm wondering? I'm wondering how all of us are going to fit in one single picture at the photocall...and the premiere. There's what, over twenty of us. That's a lot of people."

His question was not lost on deaf ears and it was a good question. There was one lone counter in the middle of the docks where they were gathering and even though Ross was not a math genius in any sense of the definition, he did know that they had a lot of people and there was no way they'd all fit into one picture. The photographers could only back up so far for a horizontal photo and if they made the cast back up even more, they'd be in the water.

"I think Paramount has this handled, Ross," Gale placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get our group photos just like everyone else."

"But we have a freakin' big cast," he stated again. "I knew it was big, but not this big."

Gale laughed him off and Ross turned around in place, watching Riker check his phone before greeting the rest of his cast mates. Most of the men were already there and they were waiting on the women. Well, most of the women, specifically, Laura, Jenna and Yaya. All the other ones were here and talking with publicists and getting last minute touches before officials gave the go ahead for all the cameras to go off at once. As he remembered from their briefing, a photo call was just that, photos. No press or anything, they all had done that yesterday. So this should go all smooth...that was until his eyes landed over on Simone.

Yes, this was the same Simone who had hit on him in Peru and the same Simone he had told Laura about afterwards. He wasn't exactly sure what went on after he reported what happened, but he was sure she was going to be demoted or something, even though he didn't want to be the cause of it. He didn't expect to see her standing in front of him with an unreadable expression on her face; and he most definitely didn't expect her to be walking ahead of Laura, his girlfriend.

"Dude, you okay?" Riker asked, noticing his expression and following his gaze. "Damn, Laura looks good."

Ross was so concentrated on Simone, not that he should be at all, that he wasn't paying any attention to Laura. Looking over to her, Riker was right, she was stunning. But when wasn't she? Her hair was pin straight with star hoop earrings dangling from her ears, and pink lips that made him want to kiss her senseless; again, when didn't that happen? She was wrapped up in a gold mini dress, that criss crossed in the back almost like a reverse halter top and showed off her legs that made him want to send tingles up them' and even pinker heels were fastened on her feet. She looked gorgeous and if this was any tip of to her premiere look, which she promised him that he'd want to rip off of her, he was looking forward to it and was getting him in trouble all at once.

He didn't actually have any opportunity to tell her that though, seeing as the officials ushered them to the counter like a heard of cows, lining them all up in a row, or two in this case. From tall to short, and ranked by how many lines they all had in the movie...then there were the "couples" and it was an hour later when he was posing with Laura again, and leaning on her shoulder like he always did. The photographers were still snapping pics when she attempted to push herself up on the counter to sit on it, instead of lean on it - this was an opportunity for him to help her out a little bit more.

Placing his hands on her slim waist, Ross hoisted her up on the counter and got a beaming smile from her in return. "You're welcome."

"I didn't even say thank you yet."

"Didn't have to," he smiled back, still looking at her instead of the cameras. Leaning his elbow near her legs, he watched her tuck the straight strands of her hair behind her ear. The ones that were glowing with gold that she would later tell him were her favorite part of the entire outfit. "You look amazing, you know."

"Stop being charming," Laura laid her hand on his shoulder, before brushing a few strands of his own hair back from his face.

"You know I can't help that. I'm very charming."

"Very humble too," she rolled her eyes at him before an official came over and put them in different positions with Jenna, Milo and Gale before Stevenson took point and shoved all his cast aside.

Ross was back over by Riker again, with Laura's hand in his and getting a briefing from his brother about what was next when publicists from Paramount came to tell them the same thing - and that included Simone. She was still stuck to her phone, as a rep usually is, but this time she wasn't saying a word to him. He was curious about what happened afterwards, but wasn't going to focus on it. What he was going to focus on was this day, and the premiere, and Laura and reminding himself, that in two more days, they'd be in a place where there were no Simones, or Henrys, or anyone else to even try to threaten what they had together.

"Hey, you okay?" Laura tugged on his hand and refocused his attention. He nodded, and walked closer to her. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. I met Simone."

He stopped in his tracks, stopping her with him while the rest of the cast walked on. "You...you did?"

"I met her. This morning."

He wasn't exactly sure what do say or do now, but thankfully, she did.

"Remember Jennifer, the publicist I was with in Bermuda? Well, Simone is now her assistant. Jennifer introduced us this morning before I got ready."

"Oh..."

"Stop worrying. I didn't claw her eyes out, obviously. But I made sure to introduce myself as Laura, Ross's girlfriend and lover. Then, I proceeded to tell Jenna, who you know is always by my side in everything, about all your new moves. I know that might have made her super jealous, but I didn't care. Just making sure she still knew that you are mine."

He wasn't sure if he should laugh or throw her up over his shoulders in happiness, so he did both. While he wasn't loving her telling Jenna all about their sex life (he certainly wasn't telling other guys about it), he loved that she was confident enough to say it all aloud and not care who heard. Laura really wasn't the 'shove in your face' type girl, but he had seen it before. When she was dating this one guy while filming Austin & Ally, another girl made a move and she was all over that, making sure that girl knew that that guy was with her. He was glad she was doing it with him; very glad.

Setting her back on the ground, Ross held her face with his hands, and rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks before kissing her. "I can't believe you did that," he told her. "But I'm glad you did. I'm definitely all yours."

"Good," she pecked his lips again. "Now let's go eat and show Simone that she really doesn't have any shot in hell of getting you."

"This playfulness in you is turning me on."

She winked, stretching out their arms and tugging on him to follow her. "That's the point."

+++

She was supposed to be paying attention to what was going on around her, with her hair, makeup and dress, but at the moment that was the furthest thing from her mind as she went back and forth with her sister on a text message. It wasn't like she was actually being attended to at the moment either. The text was all about plans for their mom's upcoming birthday - which wasn't until two months later, but Vanessa decided she wanted to get a head start on any plans, since last year's celebrations were thrown together last minute; and last year, Laura just happened to be in South Africa. Vanessa had been suggesting random things - a huge party, a surprise getaway, even a boat party, which Laura knew for a fact her mother would love. Her dad, however, maybe not. He liked the water just fine, but when you stick him out there for more than a few hours, well, let's just say, he gets a little past cranky.

Laura rolled her eyes at the latest crazy idea Vanessa just sent her that involved clowns and an elephant, and set her phone aside. There was no way she was responding in any way to that. It was ridiculous and it was almost something that sounded like a Lynch suggested it rather than a Marano. Turning to Jenna, who sat beside her, she watched the Briton's brunette hair being swept back and curled into ringlets all around her face. She leaned her chin on her arms, which were placed on the back of her chair and thought of all the things to come tonight. They were just mere hours away from stepping foot on a red carpet at the closing ceremonies for the Cannes Film Festival and while everyone - and she meant everyone - else was getting ready or nearly close to being done with hair and makeup, absolutely no one was coming within five feet of her.

She realized that there were a ton of people in this conference room; from the stars and Paramount reps, to personal reps and glam team members galore, and she didn't want to sound like a snobby actress, but she was one of the bigger stars of the cast. Shouldn't somebody, anybody come to start getting her ready? Not that she had a problem with going back out on the carpet in absolutely the same hair and makeup she had for the photo call, but she was pretty sure Paramount and Amy would flip.

"You okay?" Jenna caught her attention, swatting her arm at her.

"Yea," she nodded. "I'm fine. I can't wait to see your dress."

"Neither can I," Jenna bit on her lip. "I actually haven't seen it since my fitting in London."

"Really?"

Jenna nodded at her as her stylist pinned back pieces of hair, saving them for some kind of braid. "But it's blue and gorgeous and fits like a glove. Tell me about yours again."

And she was going to, but right as she opened her mouth to tell her movie BFF everything about her dress for the seventh time, she was cut off by Jennifer, who came up behind them both. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Laura. But we have a surprise for you."

"A surprise?"

"I sure hope that I'm more than just a surprise."

"Oh my gosh, Ellie!"

Laura didn't know how fast she flew out of the chair she was sitting on, but it had to have broken some sort of record on the planet. She took a step back after hugging the life out of her friend. Ellie was still tall, and still gorgeous, but there was one thing that was different about her and that was one massive ring on her left ring finger. Laura knew that she and Peter were getting married after they left Cape Town, but she didn't know when they'd actually be tying the knot.

"Paramount flew us up for the premiere because of Peter's involvement and I had to see if I could do your hair."

"Wait, you asked to do my hair personally?"

"Why wouldn't I? Your hair gives me life, Laura. You'll let me do anything to it," Ellie told her and scooted her over to the chair. "I got a glimpse of your dress too so I know exactly what we're going to do. Still trust me?"

Laura looked up at Ellie in the mirror. "What kind of question is that? With my life."

It was just like old times, well, as old as it could get with them. Laura let Ellie do her magic with her hair - running her hands all over it, giving it life with no brush required before grabbing a wand to curl certain sections of her strands. The straight hair that she had been given this morning was long gone and in place, at the moment, was something stringy. Ellie had told her about Xandra and how big she was getting, showing her updated pictures of her and Peter's daughter, who was still the spitting image of her mother and still the cutest human Laura had ever seen. Ellie told her about the wedding and how whimsical it had been on the beach at sunset with just their families around them.

"Does this count as your honeymoon?" Jenna asked her as she was getting eyelashes applied to her eyes.

Ellie flipped her head from side to side. "I guess it does. I'm not really sure."

"You're going to the party with us too, right?"

"I actually have no clue."

"Well, I've just decided that you are," Laura beamed back at Ellie in the mirror before she made her stand up and switched her around. "We'll have so much fun and you'll get to see Ross and his brother Riker is here and he's the definition of fun."

"Speaking of...how's it going with you and him?"

"Oh, they're still an old married couple," Jenna chimed in, a smirk curving up on her lips.

"But not really married, yet, right?"

Laura's eyes got just a bit wider. "No, no." It wasn't that she didn't think about that, but they had only been dating for almost a year. It was too early to think about that. Way too early.

Ellie came back around in front, sliding her fingers through her hair once more. "Do me a favor and rake your hands in your hair."

She obeyed and as soon as she did, Ellie was spraying her hair all around, making it stick to its' position and was probably silently praying nothing would move. She wasn't turning Laura around just yet, but instead pulled one of the makeup artists over and told her just the look to go with the hair and in minutes, she was being painted up like a doll. The rubiest red that anyone could find or even imagine was being colored on her lips and a soft pink hue brushed her cheeks. She always used to stick to nudes for her eyes, but tonight they were being painted a brilliant gold and accented with a green shadow in the corners which gave her a new kind of smokey eye look. Eyeliner was drawn over and under her eyelashes from crease to corner and with just one flick of the mascara wand, her look was complete. Well, all except the dress on her body of course.

"Ready?" Ellie asked her and she nodded, more than ready to see the premiere look she knew she'd be fawning over.

And she was right. It was gorgeous. She was gorgeous. Ellie had given her the most perfect Bardot bun that was wispy and wonderful and everything she didn't know she wanted. In her mind, Laura was envisioning something of an updo, but nothing like this. This was everything and paired with the makeup that was bold and dramatic, it was the perfect pairing with her dress - that she still had to get into. The dress...